History
This church dedicated to St. Casimir was founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits); construction began in 1604. The church was finished and consecrated in 1635, but it burned down in 1655, when the Russian army entered Vilnius. The church was rebuilt, but twice more destroyed by fire. From 1749 to 1755 the famous architect and astronomer Tomas Žebrauskas, S.J., oversaw the church's reconstruction. From 1751 to 1753 Hans Kierner, a Prussian sculptor, decorated the interior. Frescos of St. Casimir's life were painted by the Czech artist Joseph Obst.

When the Society of Jesus was suppressed in 1773 (it was reinstated in 1814), the church was given to the Augustinians. In 1812 the French army turned the church into a granary.

In 1839 the Russians turned it into an Orthodox church known as St. Michael's. It was reconstructed in 1864-68 under the architect N. Chiagin, who lowered the steeples, added a larger steeple in the front, and covered all the steeples and the cupola with onion domes.

In 1915 the German army turned the church into a Lutheran house of worship for their army. In 1917 the church was returned to the Catholics. The German Jesuit Friedrich Muckermann energetically organized spiritual and social agencies for the people.

In 1919 BL George Matulaitis, Bishop of Vilnius, returned the church to the Jesuits. Its restoration in 1925 was overseen by the architect Jan Borowski.

From 1940 the Lithuanian Jesuits worked in the church. In 1942 the crown on the cupola, a symbol of Lithuanian independence, was restored under the architect J. Mulokas.

In 1949 the church was again closed, this time by the Soviets. At this time the entire inventory of the church was destroyed, including the altars, organ, and bells. In 1963 the church was turned into a museum of atheism.

The church was returned to the Roman Catholic community in 1988. After intense restoration the church was reconsecrated in 1991, and the Jesuits again work in it.

Architecture and Art
St. Casimir's church is one of the finest baroque churches in Vilnius. It was built according to the style of Il Gesù church in Rome, although it differs in having two main frontal towers. Most Baroque churches in Lithuania that have two towers imitated St. Casimir's.
The church is constructed in the form of a Latin cross. Where the central nave and transept meet, a majestic cupola of forty meters rises. Seventeen meters in diameter, it is topped on the outside by the crown of the grand duke of Lithuania. The central nave and transept are twenty-five meters wide.

The Crypt
A large crypt from the beginning of the 17th century was discovered under the main altar in 1991. It displays beautiful bas-relief pictures in black and dark blue of the crucified and resurrected Jesus and of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as praying monks and calligraphy. The remains of two hundred other people found under the vestibule were transferred to the crypt in 1995

Music
Since the reconstruction of the church, each Sunday after the midday Mass the best musicians in Lithuania present concerts. The church has an "Oberlinger" organ with, forty-five stops from Germany and a digital "Allen" organ from the United States.

The Jesuits
The Society of Jesus was founded by Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1540 to spread the Gospel, to give the spiritual Exercises and offer spiritual direction, educate youth and address social problems. Jesuit spirituality includes a sense of being a sinner, but also of being called by God to be a follower of Jesus active in human history. thus a Jesuit serves God not in isolation but by involvement in the world.

The Society of Jesus was founded in Lithuania in 1569; in 1579 it established the University of Vilnius. The Society grew rapidly; and in the following years began other colleges. Today the society has centres in Vilnius, Kaunas and Šiauliai

Liturgy

Sundays and holy days (holidays of obligation)

9:00 Mass in Russian

10:30 Youth Mass

12:00 Mass, followed by a concert of religious music

Daily Mass

17:30

The church is open from 9:00-13:50 on Sundays and from 16:00 to 18:30 during the week. The church is often open earlier in the day.

Copyright © 2000  Lietuvos ir Latvijos jėzuitų provincija

St. Casimirs Church Contact Info: Didžioji g. 34, LT-01128 Vilnius, Lithuania | Tel.: +37052121715 | Fax.: +37052121876 | www.jesuit.lt